Roller coasters, other amusement park rides, ski lifts and other rolling vehicle people moving devices frequently have a need for complicated tracks to either provide a dynamic experience or follow rugged terrain. As such, many of these tracks for such rolling vehicles are fabricated from steel pipe, which is traditionally heated and bent to acquire its desired shape.
Unfortunately, heating and manipulating steel rod or steel pipe in such a way, and permanently bending such material, causes significant fatigue in the material. This fatigue is then existent in the resultant structure before a stress or load is applied to such apparatus, such as inherent stresses in the installation of the track (static loads) and dynamic loads applied to the track (e.g. a passing roller coaster carriage). Over time, the culmination of the manufacturing stresses, static stresses and dynamic stresses require that the traditional pipe track be replaced frequently over time.
Further, when steel rod or steel pipe is heated and bent into complex designs, the rod or pipe does not necessarily bend as desired. Metal will typically seek to bend at its weakest point or where the most force is applied over a span. As such, the end result of a fabricated steel structure may not exactly match the desired design, which either results in repeated attempts of fabrication or settling for a less than optimal result. In particular, structural and material efficient designs such as triangular tubing, square or rectangular tubing, or other metal tubing that has airspace within the cross section of the steel structure can be vulnerable to both deformation and cracking.
At the present time, metal (namely steel) roller coasters are fabricated from round, straight steel rod or steel pipe which are bent into desired formations for the necessary roller coaster application.
Based on our knowledge of the industry, there are no roller coasters in existence where the tracks are fabricated from stock planar metal material that has been cut and welded together to form the desired curve track. Such an invention, if possible, would be a highly desirable benefit as the newly developed track, which has not been bent, deformed or heated, would retain its original strength without unnecessary fatigue placed on the material by traditional bending methods. With such superior material fitness in light of the absence of fatigue during manufacture, the resulting structure or roller coaster track would be far stronger and last longer than traditional approaches. Such strength and durability, therefore, can effectively result in roller coasters and other structures being built on a larger scale or more efficient budget as compared to earlier traditional approaches.
Therefore, what is needed in the art of amusement park rides and other complex curved structures is a new approach to the fabrication and manufacture of an elongated, curved structure such as a roller coaster track. Preferably, such an improved track minimizes manufacturing stresses, creates a desired result, and further preferably reduces the costs of materials and manufacture when compared to traditional roller coaster, amusement ride, ski lift, staircase or other elongated structures.